Baylor's Brittney Griner Ejected From Game Following Punch

Sports News - March 4th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

Brittney Giner, a 6'8 freshman for the Baylor Women's basketball team, was ejected during a game for punching a player on Texas Tech.

Jordan Barncastle of Texas Tech committed a hard foul against Griner in the low post, with Baylor up by 16 points in the second half. Barncastle and Griner had a battle the entire night, each playing very aggressive on the offensive and defensive sides of the floor.

As a result of a hard shoulder thrown by Barncastle, Griner came back at the Texas Tech player and connected a punch to Barncastle's face.

Chaos ensued between the two teams, with officials finally being able to restore order to the game.

"There's no place for that in sports," Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey in a post-game conference. "It was ugly for women's basketball. It was ugly that coaches were on the court, that benches cleared, and I will take care of that with my team."

The game was halted for several minutes while officials reviewed the game tape, and debated on the proper course of action. Griner was assessed a technical foul, with the ejection stemming from a flagrant foul. An additional technical foul was called on one of her Baylor teammates, Morgan Medlock. Medlock got into a scuffle with Texas Tech player Ashlee Roberson.

Barncastle had to replace her bloody jersey with a fresh one, and disappeared to the locker room to do so. She took the court to shoot four free throws for the fouls, and made all four. Following that, she went to the bench and did not return to the court.

According to ESPN.com, this incident potentially stems from the initial match up of the two teams back in February in which Griner and Barncastle exchanged some heated words.

Kristy Curry, Texas Tech's head coach stated that Barncastle is scheduled with a doctor to find out the what damage may have been done by the punch.

"We're all in shock right now," Curry remarked following the game. "It's very unfortunate. It's very sad. My only concern is Jordan Barncastle."

Baylor Won the game 69-60. Griner had 21 points prior to her ejection. She will likely face disciplinary action from the University, or the NCAA.

With the NCAA tournament on the horizon, Baylor is in position to lock up a high seed, as they currently rank 15th in the country. Bodog has the Connecticut Huskies as a heavy favorite to claim the National Title this season, according to College Basketball Betting Lines.